Hardly there, already gone: According to a study, almost every fifth person has already given up their job in the first 100 days. The interviewees also explained what bothered them so much during the probationary period.
Getting into a new job doesn’t always go smoothly, that was the case even before Corona. But increased home office and virtual onboarding have apparently made the challenges even more difficult. This is suggested by a study by the recruiting company Softgarden, which asked more than 2,000 applicants about their probationary experiences with previous employers.
17.8 percent of the participants stated that they had already quit a job within the first 100 days. This is a significant increase compared to a pre-Corona survey from 2018: At that time, the rate of 100-day dropouts was only 11.6 percent.
The proportion of those who say they were “close to” quitting in the first 100 days also increased, albeit only slightly, from 15.7 to 17.4 percent. The bottom line is that for more than one in three respondents, the probationary period was so modest that they were about to pull the ripcord – or actually made the quick exit.
No plan, no instructions, no office chair
According to the study, the reasons for such a sudden dismissal lie mainly in three areas: poor induction of the new employees, difficulties with the new boss and unfulfilled expectations from the application phase.
Sometimes none of this fits at all, as some particularly blatant answers show: “No workplace, no office, no job description, no onboarding. I was left to my own devices and had to organize myself. I was even allowed to assemble the desk and office chair myself.” , reports one survey participant. Another described another all-round devastating experience: “I had no desk chair, no phone, no business cards and the PC wasn’t set up. The manager didn’t speak to me or even answer questions, even though he was in the same room with me . There was no induction plan and no clear work instructions.”
According to the study, not even every second company had a concrete onboarding plan. And only every second respondent found a fully furnished work station at their last job on the first day of work. “You had to set up the monitor and hardware yourself, no training in the data processing system,” recalls one. Another had to wait a full two weeks for authorization to log in – “I could only use the computer after 14 days”. And a third reports: “I had to buy a computer myself to be able to work at home during the home office obligation, the employer didn’t provide one.”
Does the virtual training work?
There was also often a lack of contacts who would take the newcomers by the hand. There was only a special onboarding manager in three out of ten cases. And even a personal contact among colleagues in their own department only in six out of ten cases. “I was to be trained by an apprentice who had only been with the company for two months,” was the experience of one survey participant. After all, eight out of ten respondents were at least officially introduced to their colleagues on the first day.
Arriving at the new company can be made more difficult if you cannot meet your colleagues in person because they are working from home. Every second person says that virtual onboarding works just as well as in person. But 30 percent who have already had experience with it find it disadvantageous. You lack the short contact to ask uncomplicated questions and to get to know each other to build a relationship of trust. On the other hand, 16 percent say that virtual onboarding works even better for them because content can be conveyed well digitally and you can get to know many different people in the company without having to travel.
Left alone by the boss
The fact that the paths separate again after a short time can also be due to the behavior of the superiors. Only every second respondent feels sufficiently supported by their boss. Many also miss clearly formulated expectations and regular feedback. According to the survey, most superiors react calmly and relaxed even when employees make mistakes, but some also come across choleric and unpleasant managers.
A survey participant describes a very special experience in which it was the superior who made the unexpected lightning exit. “I was there the first day, then the boss was released because of allegations of fraud and didn’t come back.”
